Parents of Slain IDF Soldier Mark Three Years Since Oct. 7 Hamas Attack

Ronen and Orna Neutra are marking three years since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, a somber anniversary that signifies the loss of their son, IDF soldier Omer Neutra. For 421 days, the parents held onto hope that their 21-year-old son, an American-Israeli dual citizen and grandson of Holocaust survivors, was still alive and held in Hamas captivity.

"It doesn't get easier," Orna Neutra told "Fox & Friends." "For us, this is three years since Omer was killed, but it's really the first year where we can properly go to his gravesite and mourn him and have a memorial."

Omer Neutra moved to Israel after high school and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas terrorists attacked his tank near the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing him and taking his remains into Gaza. His parents learned of his death 421 days after the attack, and his burial took place on November 7, 2025.

"For 14 months, we were fighting to bring him back alive," Orna recounted. "We thought he was a live hostage."

The family's ordeal highlights the prolonged suffering of families whose loved ones were killed or taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attacks. The wait to confirm Omer's fate and subsequently bury him extended over a year.

"It's all about moral clarity," Ronen Neutra said. "Our son is a grandson of Holocaust survivors. He understood that Israel is the only state where Jewish people are fully protected and protecting themselves."